PARIS, Texas -- State police in riot gear rushed a downtown street to break up a standoff Tuesday between hundreds of black and white extremists who exchanged screams of "Black power!" and "White power!" during a protest over the state's handling of the case of a black man who was run over and dragged by a vehicle. A skinhead carrying a Nazi flag and a shirtless white man were arrested on a misdemeanor charge of suspicion of disorderly conduct before the protesters separated peacefully, police spokesman Lt. Danny Huff said. The conflict began with a march by about 100 mostly black activists who avoided a designated "protest zone" near Paris' courthouse and walked to the town square to chants of "Black Power!" and "No Justice, no peace!"
OK, so I'm not about to hold forth that Texas is the worst and/or only place to display this sort of egregious, brain-dead racism. No, Texas just does it better than most places...and they generally don't care who knows about it. Perhaps small-town Texas didn't get the memo, but being White generally doesn't confer special status...nor does the right to treat those who look different attach to it.
It's not as if African-Americans in Paris comported themselves with an impressive degree of dignity. Chanting "Black Power!" makes about as much sense as shouting "White Power!" Great; so you've got two groups shouting at one another, perhaps on the verge of violence. Gandhi (not to mention Martin Luther King) would be SO proud, eh?
You could perhaps be forgiven for thinking that here in the 21st century we'd have evolved (even in east Texas) enough to get past skin color as the defining factor when determining a person's innate value. Of course, you'd also be wrong- WAY wrong. Look at how many on the Right clearly have significant issues with the idea of an African-American President. After years and years of people who look just like you do ensuring the predominant position of power for your race, there are some who are definitely NOT OK with that reality changing. To these folks, White not only makes right, it IS right...and a lot of folks who think like this reside in east Texas.
So what's next? Tying an African-American male to the bumper of a truck and dragging him along a country road? Wait? What? That's already been done? Well, then...I imagine I'll rest my case and step off my soapbox.
